Apparatus for spraying fluids



Sept. 21, 1943. J. GILSENAN APPARATUS FOR smwme FLUIDS FiledJune 14.,1939] Patented Sept. 21, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FORSPRAYING FLUIDS John Gilsenan, NewarlnN. i I Application 11111614, 1939,Shria1N0. 279,303

(Cl. 29911Z) 5 Claims.

' This invention relates to apparatus for spraying fluids, and moreparticularly to the extinguishing andlocalizing of confiagrations and toheavy'duty high pressure nozzles for such purposes.

The need for highly eificient means for extinguishing fires has'longbeen apparent and many types of equipment have been developed for thispurpose. While it has long been known that advantages can be had infirefighting operations as a result of using streams varying indifferent degrees between a solid stream and an atomized stream, extremedifliculty has been'experienced in producing efi'icient equipment inrelatively simple form and of a character not excessively expensive forthis purpose. Then too, the equipment used for creating high pressurestreams has produced powerful reactions and it has therefore beennecessary to employ several men to maintain a single nozzle in desiredposition, or as an alternative, heavy fasteningsand supports have beenrequired. x

This invention is intended to overcome dificulties encountered infirefighting such as referred to and it contemplates the provision of anozzle adaptable to many applications and subject to ready adjustment toproduce a wide variety of fluid streams for use in extinguishingconflagra-' tions. By the employment of the'apparatus of the presentinvention, it is possible to produce from one nozzle a stream of widelydispersed water particles in the form of a mist or fog which may bedirected as accurately as heavy high pressure streams now in use as thevaporized stream produced is of small diameter and generally uniformcross section throughout its length. It is further contemplated .toproduce such a stream through the entire range of pressures fromordinary hydrant pressures to the high pressures obtained with the usualpumping equipment, the character of the stream being reasonably uniformwhile the carrying qualities thereof vary in pro-,

portion to the pressure used. By an adjustment of the same nozzle fromwhich the aforementioned fog is produced, it is possible to produce aflared heavy spray of fluid in the form of drops, the amount of waterused being greater than that contemplated where the fogging effect isdesired. Byfurther manipulation, a solid stream of large diameter or asolid stream of small diameter may be produced.

In recent years it has been recognized that water losses incident to theuse ofheavy streams in fire fighting frequently exceeded the actualdamage caused by the fire. One of the earlier practices adapted toprevent such water damage involved the use of chemical extinguishers.However, it has nowbeen found that use can be made of nozzles whichbreak the stream into droplets of widely separated waterparticles in theform of a conical spray or fog for extinguish ing a fire and that thewater damage will be greatly reduced. 811011 a spray, when directedagainst a confi'agration, will be instantaneously transformed into steamand the vapor thus formed will efiectively blanket and extinguish thefire. Because of the fact that the spray produced is conical, asdistinguished from along stream of constantdiameter, much water iswasted by being directed at localities adjacent the burning area. This,of course, results in the lessor water and ineificient extinguishingaction. It is an object of the present invention to produce a vaporizedstream'of substantially uniform diameter in cross section over arelatively longpath whereby the'extinguishing advantages of the fog maybe attained without the necessity for spraying water beyond theburningareas, thus reducing water loss and rendering more efficient theextinguishing action. With an ordinary'fire nozzle, seventyfive toeighty gallons of water are discharged each minute, whereas by theuse'of the present invention nozzle in its atomizing adjustment,onlythree or fourgallons of water are discharged in a minute, all of suchwater being efficiently em-' ployed in extinguishing the fire.

, The present invention additionally contemplates the production of alight-weight nozzle which may operate at high pressure when placed on asurface without being secured thereto and. which may be'handled duringoperation by one man with comparative ease. l

In order that the advantages of the nozzles of the present invention maybe available to the fullest extent during emergency, novel means areemployed for altering the direction of the stream substantiallyinstantaneously and without the interruption of the fiuid flowtherethrough s The adjustment contemplated maybe effected in two ways,one involving. a major alteration of the direction and the other aminoralteration. One

or the locking means is retained in position through the back pressuresincident to use, while the other locking mechanism is independentthereof and readily operable during operations.

Otherobje'cts and advantages of the invention will appear upon detailedconsideration of the "following description whenv taken in conjunctionwith the annexed drawing wherein:

' Figure l is a view in side elevation of one form of a nozzleconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the nozzle shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the nozzle shown in Figurel, the position of the handles being altered for better illustration;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

In referring specifically to Figures 1 to 5 inclusive of the drawing, itwill be seen that the nozzle illustrated has an inlet portion H), acurved reaction chamber II and a round straight discharge portionextending from the reaction chamber II to removable tip I12 jHandleunit"i3 is rotatably mounted about the inlet portion to render the nozzleand the handles relatively movable.

I The nozzle has been-found to be particularly suitable for long andhard usage when it is fabricated of stainless St el as-it then resiststhe corrosive action of fluids passed;.therethrough. A- bent tubularmember M forms the curved reaction oham-ber and its respectiveextensions constitute a part of the inlet portionand a part of thestraight tubular discharge portion. This member ;I 4 has sweated thereonadjacent -.one end a sleeve i5 which has "an outwardly extending flange16 at'its forward end and a threaded sec tion :H at its rearward endwhich terminates flush :with :the end of member: Ill. Within the in.tahe end of the body portion I4 there is a sleeve [8 provided at itsiorward-end with anou twardly tapered inner wall and extending at itsopposite end beyond the member- M where it is joined with a radiallyextending flange l9 and an interiorly threaded portion .20 of enlargeddiameter for connection to a source of fluid supply. On the rear portionof the flange I9, two axially projecting lugs' 2| are provided and theflange hasLon its forward. face a plurality of hemispherical recesses'22arranged in a row adjacent its perimeter. 'Threadedly attached to thesweated sleeve is an outer sleeve ,23 having a protruding drilled,portion .24 formed thereon.

Apin having a rounded end .26 is housed within the drill hole of portion24 together with an encircling coil spring 2], which spring engagesagainst a shoulder in the drill hole and a flange formed .on the .pinand urges the rounded portionthereof into a selected one ofthehemispherical recesses 12. Intermediate the sleeve I5 and sleeve 23,suitable packing material 28 is interposed to insure a fluid-tightjoint. Two annular members are disposed rearwardly of the packing 28" incooperative relation with the rearward flange on sleeve 23. Theirfunction is to prevent the separation of tube M-irom sleeve I8. Anannular threaded look nut cooperates with the thread 4-! on the sleeve15 to retain the sleeve'23 fixed against stresses incident to op.er-

ation. A strainer 3| or a construction to e hereinafter more fullydiscussed is received within the enlarg'edxthreaded portion ZB and isretained inposition by the shoulder formed at the based the enlargementand a packing ring 3!).

Handle unit 13 referred to above is formed as a casting with handles anda hook and two rings 32 and 3.3, one of which surrounds sleeve liand theother of which encircles portion 20 and is adapted to contact the rearface of the flange I9. Radiallyextending from and bridgingrings 32 and'33 are handles 34. A hook pears from Figures 1 and 3.

extends radially from ring 32 and depends in a position generallyparallel to the axis of the intake portion of the nozzle. Ring 33 isprovided with four recesses 35 in which are selectively received thelugs 2! depending from the flange Hi. It will be noted that the handlesthrough the rings on which they are mounted are subject to limited axialmovement which axial movement is sufficient to disengage the lugs fromthe recesses.- When the lugs are disengaged the handle unit may beturned with respect to the remainder of the assembly. It should be notedthat the relative positions of the handles and hook are such that one ofthe handles and the hook may cooperate to form a ground support for thenozzle as ap- It will be seen that asid from the adjustment of thehandle unit ith'respect to the assembly as a whole that the key-effectedthrough thepin 2:5 in cooperation with recesses 22 may bemanually-broken so that the nozzle may be given a swivel action whilethe handles and theinteriorsleeve t8 remain locked in fixed position.While this key may be disengaged from its recess by manually rotatingthe nozzle,-the latch resists such movement sufficiently so that thenozzle will remain in a selected-position when subjected to thevibrations and stresses incident to normal use,

At the forward part of the nozzle beyond the curved reaction chamber Han axiallyextended diametrical baiile ,3]: is provided and adoubleflight spiral 38 formed with abifurcated end which'fits overbafiie 31 'forrende-ring theswirler readily removable when desired. Anadditional sleeve 39 is'sweated :over the end of :the tubular member "I4 remote from :sleeve I'5', and this sleeve is threaded to receiyealarge conical portion!!! whichis in turn interiorly'rthreaded :toreceive theiaforesaid tip portion .12. "It will be noted that thediameter of the conical portion i iil adjacent the threaded connectionwith the tubular'mem'ber M issufficien'tly reduced so that the spiral 38when moved for Wardlyby fluid passing through the nozzle will engage thewall thereof and be retained in operative position, although looselyheld, so that it may be readily removed by 'unscrewing the conicalmember 40 from the tubular member l4.

In the operation of the nozzle shownin Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, theattendant will first connect the threaded portion 29 of the sleeve 1'8to econ-- with the selected recesses 36, the supplyior the water orother fiuid may be turned on. will cause the nozzle as a whole to movesomewhat in the direction of the source of fluidsupply, thus locking thehandle unit in position. In the event adjustments of the direction ofdischarge are desired, the large conical portion 4;] maybe grasped andthe nozzle rotated thereby tothe desired position, This actionwill-cause the hemi-spherical spring thrust memberifisto be retractedfrom one of the recesses. ZZ'andjtQ engage and "disengage the otherrecesses until the desired adjustment has been made, whereupon it willbe received in and held in position by the'spring. While thedisengagement of member 26 from recess 22 may be manually eifectedthrough the nozzle, the lock is of sufficient strength to withstand thevibrations incident to ordinary high pressures used..

In the event the operator is desirous of supporting the nozzle upon asolid surface such as the ground, the handles 34 may be adjusted asshown in Figure 2, one of such handles cooperating with the hook 35 andthe hose connection to form a support. As in the case where the nozzleis manually supported, minor directing adjustments may be effectedthrough the rotation of the nozzle body l4 and sleeves I5 and 23 securedthereto to selectively place the h'emi-spherical member 26 in thedesired recess 22. The independent removability of members 38 and I2renders it possible to produce by the nozzles formed in accordance withthis invention a variety of types of streams with any one nozzle. Whenthe spiral 38 and the small tip i2 are both in position the swirlingbroken stream after leaving the spiral 38 will be atomized as it ispassed to and through tip I 2 thereby producing a stream of widelyseparated fluid particles, the stream being characterized by a uniformcross section throughout its length, as distinguished from a 45 to 160cone stream such as produced by conventional vaporizing nozzles.

The advantages of a stream of this type will be apparent when it isrealized that it will carry forty or more feet during which time it willthroughout its length present a substantially constant cross sectionaldiameter. This is advantageous in that the water may be more accuratelydirected to the conflagration and used thereon instead of beingbroadcast throughout a wide area with resultant waste of water andinjury to property.

Because of the structure of the nozzle of the present invention, whenmembers !2 and 38 are both in position a fog may be produced at ordinaryhydrant pressures as well as at pumping pressures used, producible byordinary fire extinguishing equipment. As the pressure is increased, thequality of the fog will remain relatively constant while the carryingquality of the stream Will be increased. In the event a stream of theforegoing character is not desired, a dispersion in the form of dropshaving a fairly wide spread may be obtained. This is accomplished byremoving the atomizing tip l2 from the conical portion 40 while makinguse of the spiral 38. The stream thus produced will have a greaterspread and will be heavier. Such a stream is ad vantageous in coolingtanks and other surfaces where it is desired to cover a large surfacewith a fairly great amount of water.

A solid thin stream will be produced by the use of the tip l2 withoutthe spiral 38. Such a stream has excellent carrying qualities and may beof advantage in extinguishing fires remote from the fire fightingequipment and of small size. A conventional type fire extinguishingstream may be had by removing spiral 38 and tip l2.

The four widely separate effects discussed above may all be producedwith a single nozzle due to the provision for detaching member l2 frommember 48, and member 40 from sleeve 39 for the removal of spiral 38from baffle 31. It should be noted that even in the event a conventionalfire stream'is produced, undesirable swirling with incident air pocketswill be substantially eliminated because of baille 31 and theelimination of eddy-causing surfaces Within the nozzle.

During operation, the curved reaction chamber indicated generally at Hin Figure 1 is of considerable advantage since a nozzle formed as i1-lustrated may be utilized even with high pressure operations and yet beheld by one man without great exertion. It has been found that thepressure may be changed or the supply may be cut on or oiT entirelywithout material kick-back and in fact it has been found that the nozzlemay be left unattended upon the ground without Whipping or swerving.While the reasons for this remarkable and unexpected result are notentirely understood, it is believed that the normal back pressure isbalanced by the forward pressure created by the fluid as it contacts thecurved surface within the nozzle. It seems to be the result of thedifferent pressures cancelling each other. Whatever may be the exactreason for this phenomenon, the fact is that the desired result isproduced, thus obviating the necessity of securely fastening the nozzleto a support or manually maintaining the same by the employment ofseveral attendants. This advantage of course will be obtainableirrespective of the type of stream produced.

Although the discussion of the various forms of structures made inaccordance with this invention has been directed substantially to theextinguishing and localization of confiagrations, it is to be understoodthat this invention contemplates the use of the nozzles for a widevariety of purposes including hydraulic mining, phases of the chemicalindustries, and in the cleaning arts generally.

I claim:

1. In a fluid discharge nozzle having a bend therein intermediateportions defining its intake and discharge ends, a sleeve releasablykeyed to the intake portion, said sleeve having axially extending lugsthereon to cooperate with slots in an annular rotatable membersurrounding said portion and having handles and hook thereon, saidrotatable member being subject to limited axial movement to disengagesaid lugs from said slots, said releasable key being operableindependently of the lock effected by said lugs.

2. In a fluid discharge nozzle having a bend therein intermediateportions defining its intake and discharge ends, a sleeve keyed to thenozzle adjacent its intake end, said sleeve having axially extendinglugs thereon cooperating with slots in an annular rotatable member,surrounding said intake portion and having handles and a hook thereon,said rotatable member being subject to limited axial movement to permitdisengagement of said lugs from said slots, whereby handles and hook maybe selectively secured in various radial positions with respect to theaxis of the intake portion of the nozzle.

3. A spray nozzle comprising a substantially cylindrical chamber portionto which fiuid is supplied, means defining a discharge orifice co-axialwith and communicating with said chamber portion, and a dome shapedportion connecting said orifice with said chamber, said orifice having aa depth at least equal to its diameter.

4. A spray nozzle comprising in combination a substantially cylindricalchamber portion having a bend of from 25 to 35 degrees to which fluid issupplied, means defining a discharge orifice coaxial with andcommunicating with said chamber portion; and a dome shaped portionconnecting said orifice with said chamber, said orifice having a depthat least equal to its diameter. a

5. A spray nozzle comprising in combination, a cylindrical chamber,means at one end of said chamber for connecting it to a single source offluid, means at the other end of said chamber defining a fluid dischargeorifice, means defining JOHN GILSENAN.

